Shane Meadows
Shane Meadows | |
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Born | Uttoxeter, Staffordshire, England | 26 December 1972
Occupations |
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Years active | 1994–present |
Spouse | Joanne Wilkinson |
Shane Meadows (born 26 December 1972) is an English director, screenwriter and actor, known for his work in independent film, most notably the
Meadows' other films include Small Time (1996), Twenty Four Seven (1997), A Room for Romeo Brass (1999), Once Upon a Time in the Midlands (2002), Dead Man's Shoes (2004), Somers Town (2006), Le Donk & Scor-zay-zee (2009), and The Stone Roses: Made of Stone (2013).
Early life
Meadows was born on 26 December 1972 in Uttoxeter, Staffordshire. In 1982, his father Arty, a lorry driver, discovered the body of Susan Maxwell, a child murder victim of Robert Black, and was initially a suspect in the murder case, which led to Meadows being bullied at school.[1] Meadows moved to Nottingham when he was 20.[2]
Career
Meadows enrolled on a
The majority of Meadows' films have been set in the
Much of the content of his films is semi-autobiographical and based on his experiences in Uttoxeter. Twenty Four Seven was inspired by his youth, both at a boxing club, and also playing in a local football club. Despite some huge losses, the club's coach never lost faith in them. A Room for Romeo Brass was also inspired by his youth. After Paul Fraser — his best friend, neighbour and future writing partner[5] – had a bad accident and was bound to his bed for two years, Meadows instead hung around with some of the town's more undesirable characters. Dead Man's Shoes is based on the more unpleasant side of his youth in Uttoxeter. It was inspired by a close friend who had been bullied, developed a drug problem and then committed suicide. Meadows said "I couldn't believe that, going back ten years later, he had been totally forgotten in the town – it was as if he had never existed. I was filled with anger against the people who had bullied and pushed the drugs on him, and with despair at what drugs had done to that small community".
Five of Meadows' films were shown at the 2007 Flourish Festival, held annually in Uttoxeter, to mark the release of
His second feature-length film,
The film has since had a series of sequels adapted into television serials. The first series, This is England 86 (set in 1986), aired on Channel 4 in September 2010).[7] A second series, This is England 88 (set in 1988) was aired in December 2011. A third and final series, This Is England '90 (set in 1990), was originally due to be broadcast in December 2012, but in July 2012, Shane Meadows announced that the production had been put on hold in order for him to complete his documentary about The Stone Roses,[8] and the actors were still waiting for confirmation as to when filming would start.[9] The series was finally broadcast in September 2015, and was met with critical acclaim.[10][11][12] Phil Harrison of The Guardian stated: "Shane Meadows has once again elicited some remarkable performances from his actors and the result is emotionally draining for everyone who has taken these characters to our hearts."[13] Morgan Jeffery of Digital Spy also wrote that "...all things considered, this series - this saga - remains an astounding accomplishment from Meadows and co-writer Jack Thorne."[14]
In an interview for his 2019 series
In 2021 the BBC announced that Meadows is to direct a tv series based on a novel by Benjamin Myers and produced by Element Pictures. The Gallows Pole is a period drama set against the backdrop of the coming industrial revolution in 18th century Yorkshire. The drama follows the enigmatic King David Hartley, as he assembles a gang of weavers and land-workers to embark upon a revolutionary criminal enterprise that will capsize the economy and become the biggest fraud in British history.[16]
Filmography
Feature films
- Small Time(1996)
- Twenty Four Seven (1997)
- A Room for Romeo Brass (1999)
- Once Upon a Time in the Midlands (2002)
- Dead Man's Shoes (2004)
- This Is England (2006)
- Somers Town (2008)
- Le Donk & Scor-zay-zee (2009)
- The Stone Roses: Made of Stone (2013)
Television
- This Is England '86 (2010) (four 60-minute episodes with Meadows directing episodes three and four)
- This Is England '88 (2011) (three 60-minute episodes)
- This Is England '90 (2015) (four 60-minute episodes; the fourth and finale was feature length / 75 minutes)
- The Virtues (2019) (three 45-minute+ episodes; the fourth is feature length / 75 minutes)[17]
- The Gallows Pole (2023) (three 60-minute episodes)
Online series
- Charity Shop Sue (2019)
Short films
- 2007
- Valentine – promotional music video[18]
- Serious – promotional music video[18]
- The Living Room — documentary about musician Gavin Clark
- 2005
- The Stairwell [40 seconds][19]
- 2004
- Northern Soul [30mins]
- 2000
- Shane's World [70 mins]
- — Macca's Men
- — The Man With No Name
- — The Poppa Squeeze Affair
- — Three Tears for Jimmy Prophet
- — Tank's Top Tips
- 1999
- Le Donk Episodic One Slap [19 mins]
- Le Donk Episodic Two Slap [15 mins]
- Billy Gumbo [10 mins]
- Willy Gumbo [20 mins]
- Le Donk Rat Attack [15 mins]
- Simon Stanway 3 [5 mins]
- Gary Golfer [8 mins]
- Eric D'ya Get the Jisto [5 mins]
- Stars of Track and Field [30 mins]
- 1998
- Paul, Simon, Dominic and Snowy Cabrerra [14 mins]
- Daihatsu Domino [9 mins]
- Size Sixteen Feet [6 mins]
- There was a Wolf in the Room Mum, and it was Dying [2 mins]
- It was just a little Chimp, about six inches tall and he wore a little red sweater [5 mins]
- Autumn in the Heart [7 mins]
- Hospital Stanway [9 mins]
- A Room for Romeo Brass rehearsals [11 mins]
- All the Way Through [5 mins]
- 1997
- Come Back Dominic Dillon [12 mins]
- Waiting For the Winter [16 mins]
- In the Meantime Afternoon [20 mins] – documentary
- A Room For Romeo Brass [13 mins]
- 1996
- The Rise and Fall of a Protection Agency [20 mins]
- Where's the Money, Ronnie? [12 mins] – final version[5]
- Simon Stanway is Not Dead [18 mins]
- Torino Torino [15 mins] – documentary
- The Church of Alan Darcy [8 mins]
- 1995
- The Pasta Twist [11 mins]
- The Stretch [16 mins]
- The Allotment Show) [2 mins]
- Sneinton Junction [6 mins]
- Jock and John are Neighbours [7 mins]
- Black Wiggow [10 mins]
- King of the Gypsies [6 mins] – documentary
- King of the Gypsies [10 mins] – documentary
- Kill Me Now, Mummy [7 mins]
- Karate Youth [3 mins]
- The Zombie Squad [11 mins]
- Where's The Money, Ronnie? [14 mins] – third version
- A Glyde in the Park [5 mins]
- 1994
- Where's the Money, Ronnie? [10 mins] – second version
- Where's the Money, Ronnie? [10 mins] – first version
- The Datsun Connection [13 mins]
- The Murderer [5 mins]
- Little Man [10 mins]
- The Cleaner [2 mins]
Collaborators
This section of a biography of a living person does not include any references or sources. (December 2013) |
Meadows frequently collaborates with various actors and film crew members. Though he writes and directs all his work, for many of his films the splits the writing credits with another party, with the two credited jointly as writers.
He has worked twice with
Paul Fraser [a childhood friend] has been Meadows' co-writer and contributor for all of his films except his This is England projects, Small Time and Le Donk & Scor-zay-zee, on which Meadows worked with writers Considine and
Many of Meadows's films have had original music provided by Nick Hemming of The Leisure Society, Gavin Clark of Clayhill or Italian pianist and composer Ludovico Einaudi. Meadows has worked many times with producer Mark Herbert and cinematographer Danny Cohen.[citation needed]
Crew
- Paul Fraser has written for nearly every Meadows movie from 24 7: Twenty Four Seven to Somers Town. He also worked as second unit director/assistant director for Somers Town. He appears in Once Upon a Time in the Midlands as "Bingo Checker", A Room for Romeo Brass as "Physiotherapist" (uncredited) and 24 7: Twenty Four Seven as "Photographer".[5]
Music
Many of Meadows's films have had original music provided by:
- Gavin Clark of Clayhill, Clayhill also appeared in "Northern Soul" (short). Clark was the subject of a 2007 Meadows documentary "The Living Room".
- Nick Hemming and The Leisure Society.
- Ludovico Einaudi an Italian pianist and composer.
Recurring cast members
Shane Meadows often casts certain actors more than once in his films. Meadows has most frequently worked with Paddy Considine, Vicky McClure, Andrew Shim, Thomas Turgoose, Frank Harper and Jo Hartley.
Actor | Where's the Money, Ronnie? (1996) | Small Time (1996) | 24 7: Twenty Four Seven (1997) |
A Room for Romeo Brass (1999) | Shane's World (2000) | Once Upon a Time in the Midlands (2002) | Dead Man's Shoes (2004) | Northern Soul (Short) (2004) |
The Stairwell (Short) (2005) | This Is England (2006) | Somers Town (2008) | Le Donk & Scor-zay-zee (2009) | This Is England '86 (2010) | This Is England '88 (2011) | This Is England '90 (2015) | The Virtues (2019) |
The Gallows Pole (2023) | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Andrew Shim | 8 | |||||||||||||||||
Vicky McClure | 6 | |||||||||||||||||
Jo Hartley | 6 | |||||||||||||||||
Thomas Turgoose | 6 | |||||||||||||||||
Stephen Graham
|
5 | |||||||||||||||||
Michael Socha | 5 | |||||||||||||||||
Ladene Hall | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
Paddy Considine | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
George Newton | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
Joe Gilgun | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
Rosamund Hanson | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
Chanel Cresswell | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
Andrew Ellis | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
Danielle Watson | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
Kriss Dosanjh | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
Perry Benson | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
Mat Hand | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
Jimmy Hynd | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
Dena Smiles | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
Tanya Myers | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
Frank Harper | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
Ian Smith | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
Hannah Walters | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
Steve Brody | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
Katherine Dow Blyton | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
Johnny Harris | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
Rebecca Manley | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
William Travis | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
Seamus O'Neill | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
Helen Behan | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
Dominic Dillon | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
Darren O. Campbell | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
Bob Hoskins | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
Johann Myers | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
Justin Brady | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
Anthony Clarke | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
Tony Nyland | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
Karl Collins | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
Dave Blant | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
Craig Considine | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
Matt Considine | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
Toby Kebbell | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
Emily Aston | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
Joe Dempsie | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
Perry Fitzpatrick | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
Lyra Mae Thomas | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
Neil Bell | 2 |
References
- ^ Louise Jury (24 April 2007). "Director who puts himself in the frame". London Evening Standard. ES London Ltd. Archived from the original on 1 September 2010. Retrieved 24 January 2010.
- ^ "Game of Thrones star Joe Dempsie on his life and career". Archived from the original on 17 July 2015.
- ^ "Nick Hemming | State Magazine". Archived from the original on 17 March 2018. Retrieved 17 March 2018.
- ^ "Filmmakers on film: Shane Meadows on Mean Streets". Telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 28 April 2023.
- ^ a b c Spencer, Neil; "Suburban guerrilla" Guardian.co.uk, 25 August 2002
- ^ Blacklock, Mark; "Cruel justice" Telegraph.co.uk, 6 October 2004
- IMDb
- ^ Metro, 4 July 2012: This Is England ’90 production halted for Shane Meadows' Stone Roses doc Retrieved 30 August 2012
- ^ Metro, 29 August 2012: This Is England star Chanel Cresswell admits 1990 update isn’t confirmed Retrieved 30 August 2012
- ^ "Welcome to Shane Meadows.co.uk". www.shanemeadows.co.uk. Retrieved 13 October 2015.
- ^ "IMDB". IMDb. 13 September 2015.
- ^ "This Is England '90, review: 'end of an era'". Telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 13 October 2015.
- ^ Harrison, Phil (4 October 2015). "This Is England '90 episode four – winter". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 October 2015.
- ^ "This Is England '90 episode 4 review: A bittersweet triumph". Digital Spy. 4 October 2015. Retrieved 13 October 2015.
- TheGuardian.com. 5 May 2019.
- ^ Griffiths, Eleanor (19 May 2021). "BBC announces new Shane Meadows drama The Gallows Pole, based on "the biggest fraud in British history"".
- ^ "News". Channel4.com.
- ^ a b Track by Richard Hawley, taken from his album Lady's Bridge.
- ^ "The Stairwell" was produced for the Nokia Shorts competition, 2005.
External links
- Shane Meadows at IMDb
- Biographie et Filmographie du réalisateur Shane Meadows — French Shane Meadows website ShaneMeadows.fr
- Directors: Shane Meadows — profile, biography and filmography Alt-Flix.co.uk
- Shane Meadows – Further Reading & Critical Bibliography shanemeadows.co.uk